


Amongst the Waves

by Moonlitgems



Series: Moon's Eremin Week 2019 [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Awkwardness, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Mermaids, Seashells
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-06 01:10:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21218081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonlitgems/pseuds/Moonlitgems
Summary: Day 1- seashells *sorta*





	Amongst the Waves

**Author's Note:**

> It's late, but I finally finished writing it. Yay! =w= I hope you enjoy it.

Three years have passed since he'd seen that light in his dark world. Even now he could still feel it's chill in the warmth of the summer's night. The beautiful melody still rung in his head, on nights that he could not sleep. More often, than not, he found himself out on the sea, staring up at the dark waters on those nights.

It had become somewhat of a habit. A ritual that he'd grown extremely comfortable with, since he'd gained his small ship. Nothing felt more relaxing, than sitting there forcing every negative thought from his mind. Though, this had his family worried. He had almost drowned out here three years ago, so he could understand why. But, there was a reason that he continued to come out here. At any moment he would have company, so he had to quickly finish setting up for his guests.

His boat was an old diving boat, he'd refurbished himself, so there was a lowered platform to the right, where divers could pull themselves back up onto the deck. It was currently covered by a special door he added on, so things wouldn't fall off the boat, if they weren't strapped down properly. It opened up to the inside of the boat and was clamped into the wall. This was to ensure his company would be able to get onto the boat.

Once that was done, he threw a towel onto the side of the boat and moved to the cockpit. There he had some supplies strapped down and began to untie them them. Unstrapping the cooler, he'd brought, he moved opened it and pulled out the vegetables and some other things. It took him another few minutes to get kitchen set up and the electric kettle turned on to make something to warm Armin up with. It was almost lunch time, so he was planning to make a light meal.

“Armin, you're early,” Eren said, as he caught the sound of something breaking through the water.

Turning his head to look over his shoulder, he saw that there in the diving deck was a young man, pulling himself out of the water, exposing the golden scales. They shimmered like sunlight as he sat himself on the edge of the dock. His translucent fins splashed in the waters as the ones on his waist flicked with the lack of water. Eren watched as he ran his hands over flaps of skin across his neck that were his gills. They disappeared like magic as he ran his fingers across them. An exhaled from the blond's lips and Eren realized he was staring again and turned himself away. It was a strangely mystical site, though, the cause was probably what Armin truly was.

A mermaid/man, what most would consider a mythical creature. Eren was never sure which to call him. He'd never heard of a merman, most the stories he found were of the maidens of the sea and how they lure men to their deaths. Of course, when he asked Armin about it, he was told that the guys are just mistaken for women and usually killed the sailors because they were pissed. It made sense to Eren, but there was no way that he wanted to meet another like Armin.

“I'm just starting on lunch. It might take a little bit,” He said looking back at the food he'd set out in front of him.

“That's okay.” Armin said calmly. It was their usual routine, after all, but neither of them seemed to mind. “I brought some fish. Can you teach me how to cook them,” He said, turning back as he began to lift something out of the water. Eren nodded and turned back to his makeshift kitchen to prep the salad and pull out the the package of seasoned potatoes, he's prepped at home.

In hindsight, he knew he should have done that part before he left for their meeting place. However, his dear sister was home from her business trip and would question him. She always did and gave him a look that told him she knew he was up to something. It wasn't his fault that she was nosy and tried to stop him from going out onto the boat.

Even if he did stop, Armin would just come to the shore to find him. Then he would run the risk of being discovered. That was the last thing he wanted. For all he knew, people would lock him up like he was an alien or something. Or worse, capture him for impure means. Mer-people were extremely popular with modern society.

“Your clothes are in the usual place. I picked out a blue shirt, I hope that's okay.” He said, knowing that Armin liked to wear Eren's button-up shirts and blue seemed to be his favorite color. "And, don't forget the pants, this time," Eren said, watching Armin's face to sour slightly, but he didn't argue.

“I won't. It's just going to take a bit longer today,” Armin said, causing Eren to look back at him. Armin was rubbing his lower half, where his knees would be, the scales shimmering in the sunlight. It was hard to believe, but Armin would soon come to have legs, an ability that Eren hadn't know that existed.

And wouldn't have believed it, if he hadn't watched Armin's legs form himself. Long, slim, muscular legs would replace the beautiful shimmering scales that Armin possessed now. It made him look like a normal human. No one would be any wiser, if they never met Armin before. That being said, there was no doubt that Armin hated pants.

It was described to Eren as the feeling of a plastic bag getting stuck on his fins, but the plastic was itchy and rubbed him the wrong way in places. The fabric made him feel like his legs couldn't breath and they strangely would sweat. It didn't matter what type of fabric Eren chose. Jean; cotton; microfiber; fleece; it all irritated the crap out of Armin's skin. As long as they were loose, it didn't bother him as much, so he would wear Eren's baggy pants that threatened to fall off his waist. Or one of the skirts Eren nicked from his roommate and adopted sister. Today, however, he could not snag one, so shorts were the only option.

“It's getting a bit cooler out. Summer will be over soon.”

“Yeah,” Armin said, sounding extremely sad about that.

Their meetings would be shorter and far in between, after all. It would become far too cold for Armin to be close to the surface. He would have to stay in the deeper ends, basically hibernating by the thermal vents that rest at the bottom of the ocean. For half the year, they wouldn't be able to visit each other everyday and it obviously upset his friend.

“I can start bringing warmer clothes, if you're getting too cold,” Eren said, moving over to Armin to hand him a second towel. Hoping that his friend wasn't already getting too cold.

“No, it's still warm enough for now,”Armin said, smiling up at Eren as he took the towel from him. “What are you making for lunch?” Armin started drying his shoulder length hair with the towel, the other one draped over his lap.

“Well, we can have the fish. I have some stuff to make a salad. You liked it the last time, right?” Eren turned away, so he wouldn't start to stare.

“Yes,” Armin said, continuing to dry himself off, so he could get dressed.

“Good, and I was thinking of cooking it with some potatoes,” He said as he

"Potatoes? Are they a type of vegetation on land?" Armin asked as Eren heard unsteady foot steps hobble around behind him.

"Yeah, it's an edible root," Eren said, shifting slightly to be able to talk with Armin a bit easier.

He couldn't help but to glance at Armin, who hadn't answered right away, like he usually did.

"I'd like to try it," Armin responded, smiling back at Eren, as he made sure the towel was tightly wrapped around his waist. His legs were almost completely formed, the scales were still shimmering in random places on his legs and his toes still looked a bit like webbed feet.

“Okay, I'll try to make it worth eating,” Eren said, with a weak smile. “My friend Sasha's fiance gave me this recipe, I hope you'll like it.”

“Fiance? Is that a type of relationship in human culture? I've heard my sisters mention it before.” Eren heard unsteady foot steps hobble around behind him and knew Armin was finally able to stand.

“It's what you would call someone that you are extremely close with and want to spend the rest of your life with.” Armin looked a bit confused, but Eren continued, trying to explain it a bit better. “When two people get married they are binding themselves together in legal and holy union.” Eren said, checking the kettle, it was almost ready to make the coffee. He then heard a thump, where he turned and saw Armin had fell forward into the seat.

“You okay,” Eren said, reaching out to help Armin up, before stopping himself, because Armin was still technically naked.

“Yeah. My legs are always asleep again,” Armin said, with a slight laugh, making sure the towel hadn't fallen off his waist.

“If you need help, I can,” He said, leaning toward Armin, feeling a bit embarrassed at his suggestion.

“No. I can do it myself,” Armin said quickly waving his hands wildly around in front of him. This was something he was expecting, after all. “Uh, I set the fish on the platform. I know you don't like them on the deck.”

“Thanks.” He said, retrieving the fish.

Pondering the quickest way to clean and cook the fish, he began to prep his little built in table. It took up a bit of space on the small deck, but there was just enough space for the two of them. He could practically feel Armin's presence moving behind him. All it would take was a single step and he'd bump into the blond. Eren was caught up in his thoughts that he practically jumped out of his skin when he felt something touching the small of his back.

“S-Sorry,” Armin's voice sounded as Eren glanced behind him. He caught site of Armin slipping a white shirt over his muscular shoulders. The site of the pale skin, caused Eren to feel like a pervert. It had to be some sort of power that Armin's race had. A natural lure that drew his eyes toward the other male. Eren was just lucky that the blond had put on underwear before he put his shirt on, because the towel was lying abandoned on the seat.

“It's fine. I need to look into a larger boat.” It was embarrassing to admit to himself that his eyes went there afterward seeing the shirt go on, but it did. He was just glad that Armin didn't seem uncomfortable with the concept of underwear.

“I like this boat,” Armin said softly, as he buttoned his

“Do you want something to drink,” Eren asked, watching Armin struggle to get on the shorts. Armin leaned forward to try to get the shorts unstuck from his wet legs, causing him to lose his balance. “Hey! Watch it,” Eren was quick to move and catch Armin's arm, stopping him from toppling over again. “You'll take a nose dive into the water, if you keep that up.” Armin stared at him with wide doe eyes, startled by Eren catching him, before a laugh escaped. Eren was quick to realize why Armin was laughing and he felt his cheeks start to burn.

“You always do that,” He said, giggling at Eren's mistake and Eren let him go with a sigh. It wouldn't matter if Armin fell into the water. He was a merman, he would be completely okay, but he still freaked out.

“Because, if you fall onto the rotor blades, you'll hurt yourself. Or you could hurt yourself hitting the side of the boat.” He said trying to save himself the embarrassment. “I don't want to attract sharks, especially, if you plan on going home tonight.”

“I wouldn't mind if I had to stay with you for a few days.”

"Did you like the coffee I made last time?" Eren said, ignoring what Armin had just said, feeling too embarrassed to respond to it.

"Uh, yes!" He scrambled quickly to get the shorts on, looking excited to have coffee. Eren smiled softly at his actions and began to make a cup of instant coffee for Armin.

They two of them sat in quiet as Armin sipped on his coffee, seeming to forget that he wanted to say something. Eren took the time to prep the fish.

"You seem distracted," Eren said, when he realized that Armin was staring off toward the shore the was barely visible from their position. "Is there something wrong," he said, setting the fish onto the little griddle. Once that was done he turned to Armin, waiting for his response. Armin glanced his way before looking back at the ocean.

"I was told something by one of my sister's the other day. It's been bothering me." He said a small smile forming on his lips. It wasn't unusual for something to be bothering Armin. The fact that he was bringing it up made Eren curious. It wasn't too often that Armin talked about his problems, mostly because he didn't want to 'bother' Eren. "I'm not sure how to say it," He said, reaching down to a boot that he used as a bag. He pulled out a conch shell, bout the size of his hand and cupped it. "In my clan we-don't usually have males. Traditionally, we usually were killed at birth." Armin looking down at the shell, running his thumb along the smooth edges.

"You're not going to let them sacrifice you or something, are you," Eren said, feeling like it was something his friend would do. He had a sort of pack mentality, always thinking about what would be for the 'best' for the clan or community. If that's what they had planned, Eren would just have to take Armin away from them. There was no way he was going to allow Armin. To do that, even if he suffered for it.

"What? No," Armin said, looking a bit startled by it. “Uh, it's not like that anymore. Most of my clan is female, yes, but we don't have many men born, in the first place.” He looked confused and nervous as he started to ramble. “It's important that our Men survive or we'd have to resort to killing sailors again for reproduction,” He said, picking up the shell, he'd dropped onto his lap in his panic. “What I was trying to say is, I've finally decided what I wanted to do. I was hesitant when I first came to age, but-” He stopped holding the shell against his chest. “I plan on spending this winter on the land,” He said, looking a bit embarrassed by something. “And, I'd like to continued to see you during the winter. As more than friends, if you feel the same.”

“Did you just ask-”

“Uh...Do you not like me-um, like _that_?”

That, Eren wondered, if he meant what Eren thought he did. “I do like you. A lot more than I probably should,” Eren said, a lump building in his throat at the thought of them becoming more than friends and he quickly turned away to flip the fish. “And I'd like to see you during the winter. It'd be nice to show you around town, but won't you need somewhere to stay.” He was trying to change the subject, only because he was horrible at this sort of thing. There was no doubt that his face was bright red at the fact he just admitted to Armin that he liked him.

“Eren,” Armin said, putting his hand on Eren's shoulder and making him to turn around. “Do you want to be my Fiance?” He said, holding out the conch shell with a hopeful look. Eren just let out a laugh, not trying to be rude. He knew that Armin didn't mean it that.

“Let's start with boyfriend, then work from there.” Eren said, putting his hand onto the conch shell, so they were pretty much holding hands. Armin just looked a bit confused, but happy that Eren didn't seem to have rejected him.

**Author's Note:**

> I am struggling with writing for the prompts for this Eremin week, so this is a bit late. It isn't focused on the seashell, but more the ocean. But, I hope you enjoy what I plan on posting. <3


End file.
